DoaS Requiem Quotes

Linda: ''Why didn't anybody __?''

Linda: ''Why didn't anybody come?''

Awful question that comes immediately after witnessing Willy's tragic suicide. Miller relies on the pathos of the shock just moments ago and transfers this into grief.

This moment directly mirrors Willy's idolisation of 'Dave Singleman' where 'things were quiet on a lot of trains' after his death, whereas Willy's impact on the world has been so minor that his death is so tragically futile.

Linda: ''He only needed a little __.''

Charley: ''No __ only needs a little salary.''

Linda: ''He only needed a little salary.''

Charley: ''No man only needs a little salary.''

Miller uses Charley to outline Miller's view on tragedy. The tragic protagonist will die trying 'to secure one thing - his sense of personal dignity'. Willy is not content with merely 'living from day to day,' he must find greatness which he can only find through death.

Biff: ''He had all the wrong __. All, all _. [...] He never knew who he was.''

Biff: ''He had all the wrong dreams. All, all wrong. [...] He never knew who he was.''

Although Willy does gain the terrible clarity of the destructive impact his affair has had on Biff, he experiences no true anagnorisis of the wider joys and desires that would have saved him. Biff instead experiences the anagnorisis, leaving us feel hopeless towards Willy, but some hope towards Biff.

Charley: ''Willy was a __. And for a salesman, there's no rock __ to the life. [...] A salesman has got to __, boy. It comes with the __.''

Charley: ''Willy was a salesman. And for a salesman, there's no rock bottom to the life. [...] A salesman has got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory.''

Charley's dialogue acts as a eulogy for Willy. He both subtly criticises and accepts Willy's misguided outlook on the system, and summarises Willy's experience on a seemingly heroic level.

Happy: ''I'm staying right in this __. [...] Willy Loman did not die in __. He had a good __. It's the only dream you can have - to come out number-one man. He __ it out here, and this is where I'm going to __ it for him.''

Happy: ''I'm staying right in this city. [...] Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream. It's the only dream you can have - to come out number-one man. He fought it out here, and this is where I'm going to win it for him.''

Miller prepares the continuation of the Loman's intergenerational trauma, allowing us to tragically foresee the decline of Happy from this moment. He will likely end up in a similar grave.

Linda: ''I made the last __ on the house today. Today, dear. And there'll be nobody __. We're __ and clear.''

Linda: ''I made the last payment on the house today. Today, dear. And there'll be nobody home. We're free and clear.''

Mirrors 'work a life to pay off a house. You finally own it, and there's nobody to live in it' and 'they time them so when you finally paid for them, they're used up.' Linda's use of 'we're' acknowledges Willy's part in achieving his goal of financial security, increasing our pathos as we can clearly see the direct result of Willy's deluded dreams.

Stage directions: ''Only the __ of the flute is left on the darkening stage as over the house the __ towers of the apartment buildings rise into __ focus.''

Stage directions: ''Only the music of the flute is left on the darkening stage as over the house the hard towers of the apartment buildings rise into sharp focus.''

The transition of our attention from the Loman household to the wider city demonstrates how little impact the 'private conversations' (as the play's subtitle labels them) have had on the wider world, and thus how many other similar stories have gone untold.